Rocky Planets Around Cool Stars

Objective

The search for life bearing planets elsewhere is one of the major themes in contemporary astronomy, and much science investment is committed or being directed to seek and study extra-solar planets, with projects like Corot, Kepler, JWST, and Darwin. Previous search efforts focus on finding earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, however, cool stars are by far the most populous potential planet hosts, and in recent years a prevailing view has developed that biological viability could benefit greatly from planets in their habitable zone. Our new large scale WFCAM Transit Survey (WTS) has just been awarded 200 nights on the UK Infrared Telescope, and will use the transit method to seek out small rocky planets around cool stars. The mass, radius, density and atmospheres of transiting planets can be directly measured, with previous discoveries around Sun-like stars being highly inhospitable gas giants known as hot-Jupiters. Around cool stars however, smaller, rocky planets can be detected by the transit method, and could be warm habitable worlds. The discovery of such planets would be extremely high profile both in the field and to the public, and impact a wide range of scientific areas. We propose an Initial Training Network to exploit the WTS for planet detection and characterisation, and to contribute to the future study of these and other planets via design phase work at our industrial node EADS Astrium. The network will have a large impact on our understanding of the diversity of habitable planets, and inspire both the general public through high profile discoveries, and schools/colleges through the provision of themed educational materials. Network researchers will gain a broad range of training in astronomical, computational, mathematical techniques during their research, as well as aquiring a wide variety of transferable skills in the use of mathematical algorithms, spectroscopy, databases, engineering design techniques, education and outreach.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy optical astronomy
• natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets exoplanetology
• natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets giant planets gas giants
• natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

• Astrophysics
• Physical sciences
• astrobiology
• cool stars
• extra-solar planets
• fundamental properties
• habitable
• transits

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN - Marie Curie Action: " Networks for Initial Training"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)

Coordinator

Participants (5)